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A review by fipah
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
2.0
2 stars = it was OK/meh for me
I read this because people recommended this for some extra Annihilation-like vibes (I loved Annihilation). Did not get them here, though this is not the reason for my lower rating.
IMHO this could have been a short story. It is too long – not much happens in terms of:
A) plot
B) giving us readers answers
C) character development/insight.
The lingering question I have after reading this is "...and what?". I feel there is no enrichment on my side – in a retrospect there was no reason for me to read this. It is more like an insight into the life of three characters and... that is it, not much happens, not much is given to you as a reader (it does not have to be plot-wise, mind you!). There is just nothing enriching, captivating and enthralling.
Even with the main character Borne... the whole ending feels very empty, random and badly executed? He kind of disappears from the scene in the second half of the book and then nothing really gets resolved/explained. We do not really understand Borne or their/his/its relationship to Rachel (BTW why does Borne have to be a he?). Borne reappears in the end, but in a very distant and cold way and that is basically it.
TLDR: The book is very simple at its core, which should be fine, but this is very simple in a trite, boring way IMHO. The weird setting and the uncanny polish cannot rescue it from the fact that the book is basically about a woman finding a strange creature whom she gets to kinda know and then going on a small journey with her lover. That is it, the writing is very distant and to me it feels like you will not be enriched after reading this, though many people like it , so go for it if it interests you :)
I read this because people recommended this for some extra Annihilation-like vibes (I loved Annihilation). Did not get them here, though this is not the reason for my lower rating.
IMHO this could have been a short story. It is too long – not much happens in terms of:
A) plot
B) giving us readers answers
C) character development/insight.
The lingering question I have after reading this is "...and what?". I feel there is no enrichment on my side – in a retrospect there was no reason for me to read this. It is more like an insight into the life of three characters and... that is it, not much happens, not much is given to you as a reader (it does not have to be plot-wise, mind you!). There is just nothing enriching, captivating and enthralling.
Even with the main character Borne... the whole ending feels very empty, random and badly executed? He kind of disappears from the scene in the second half of the book and then nothing really gets resolved/explained. We do not really understand Borne or their/his/its relationship to Rachel (BTW why does Borne have to be a he?). Borne reappears in the end, but in a very distant and cold way and that is basically it.
TLDR: The book is very simple at its core, which should be fine, but this is very simple in a trite, boring way IMHO. The weird setting and the uncanny polish cannot rescue it from the fact that the book is basically about a woman finding a strange creature whom she gets to kinda know and then going on a small journey with her lover. That is it, the writing is very distant and to me it feels like you will not be enriched after reading this, though many people like it , so go for it if it interests you :)